-LRB- WIRED -RRB- -- The Verizon iPhone and AT&T iPhone have gone head-to-head in thousands of broadband tests , and the numbers tell the story you 'd expect : AT&T 's network is much faster .

Ookla , creators of the Speedtest.net broadband test , compiled data from tests run by iPhone customers using the Speedtest.net app on both AT&T and Verizon .

On average , the reported AT&T iPhone transfer rates were roughly two times faster than the Verizon iPhone 's .

The AT&T iPhone 's average download speed was 1,769 Kbps , and the average upload speed was 730 Kbps . By way of comparison , the Verizon iPhone 's average download speed was 848 Kbps , and the average upload speed was 506 Kbps .

The results come from 43,000 AT&T iPhones and 14,000 Verizon iPhones all over the United States . Most Speedtest.net app users ran the tests multiple times , totaling 106,000 results from AT&T iPhone users and 49,000 results from Verizon iPhone users .

The Speedtest.net results did not provide data on coverage reliability or dropped connections .

From my benchmarking of the Verizon iPhone versus the AT&T iPhone , I also found that the AT&T iPhone 's 3G transfer rates were much faster than Verizon 's .

However , the AT&T iPhone sometimes could not complete tests because it did not have a connection , whereas the Verizon iPhone successfully completed every test . In short , I found the Verizon iPhone to be slower with network transfers but more reliable with coverage . Reviewers at other publications had the same results .

`` I think that 's the story I expected to see , '' said Doug Suttles , co-founder of Ookla . `` Verizon has never talked up their speed , but they always talk up coverage and reliability ... . I think the story is quality versus throughput : What are you after ? ''

Speedtest.net 's nationwide results back my verdict : You should get a Verizon iPhone if you really care about voice quality and calls , but the AT&T iPhone is better as a media-consumption device -LRB- Netflix movies , photo downloads and uploads , etc. -RRB- because of its faster speeds .

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Copyright 2011 Wired.com .

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Verizon iPhone and AT&T iPhone go head-to-head in broadband tests

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You should get a Verizon iPhone if you really care about voice quality and calls

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AT&T iPhone is better as a media-consumption device